Izon language
| Izon | |
|---|---|
| Ịzọn | |
| Native to | Nigeria |
| Region | Bayelsa, Delta, Ondo, and Ekiti States |
|
Native speakers
|
(1 million cited 1989) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | izon1238 |
Izon (Ịzọn), also known as (Central–Western) Ijo, Ijaw, Izo, and Uzo, is the dominant Ijaw language, spoken by a majority of the Ijaw people of Nigeria.
There are over two dozen dialects, all mutually intelligible, of which the most important are Gbanran, Ekpetiama and Kolokuma. Kolokuma is the language of education.
In June 2013, the Izon Fie instructional book and audio CDs were launched at a ceremony attended by officials of the Government of Bayelsa State.
While there are approximately 1,700,000 speakers of all Ijo languages in Nigeria, it is believed that there are only a little over 1,000,000 Izon speakers. The language is currently classified as "at risk", with a 20% certainty based on the evidence available. Izon is recognized as having been present in the region several millennia before the 15th century when the Portuguese arrived at the Nigerian coast. At present, linguists approximate that the language became established in the Niger Delta region as many as seven to eight thousand years ago.
The Ijo people did not call the Niger Delta region home for all of history; in fact, it is known that there have been ancient movements from far-away places/from the edges of the Niger Delta. Because of this, Izon is closely related to a variety of other languages from surrounding areas, beyond the confines of Nigeria towards the sources of the Niger River near West Africa. Linguists have traced the pre-history of Izon far back and collectively refer to its roots as proto-ijo, the language from which all existing Ijo dialects came into existence.
In recent efforts to prevent the Izon language from extinction, the Bayelsa State Government has taken great preservation measures. They have employed over thirty teachers to teach the Izon language in local schools within the state. The Commissioner for Culture and Ijaw National Affairs, Dr. Felix Tuodolo fears that because families are now teaching their children Pidgin-English, as opposed to Izon, that the language is now at critical risk for extinction. As a means of furthering the government's dedication to preserving the cultural language, a number of books have been written in Izon dialects to assist in this process
In each of the four Izon sentences above, the same form of the verb "sei" (dance) is used, even when the plurality of the subject changes.
bei ki.mi. bei (this man) bei owu bei (this masquerade)
u bei ki.mi. bei (that man) u bei owu bei (that masquerade)
The demonstrative "ma" (this) and "u ma" (that) coincide with singular feminine nouns as follows:
ma iyo. ro. arau. ma (this woman) u ma iyo. ro. arau. ma (that woman)
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